Communication apparatus, communication system, notification method, and program product

ABSTRACT

There is provided a communication apparatus including: a first communication unit having a first communication range; a second communication unit having a second communication range wider than the first communication range; a control unit which transmits a request signal for starting communication via the second communication unit from the first communication unit to another communication apparatus, and transmits authentication information from the second communication unit to the another communication apparatus in the case where it is determined that communication with the another communication apparatus via the second communication unit is possible based on a response signal after the first communication unit receives the response signal in response to the request signal; and a notification unit which notifies a user after the second communication unit receives a result of authentication based on the authentication information.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to Japanese Patent ApplicationJP 2008-182183 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Jul. 14, 2008, theentire contents of which being is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present application relates to a communication apparatus, acommunication system, a notification method, and a program product.

In recent years, wireless communication functions are mounted on manyelectronic devices, and correspondingly, various wireless communicationstandards have been established. Typical examples of personal wirelesstechnologies, for example, include a wireless LAN and the Bluetooth(trademark) (hereinafter, referred as BT). These wireless technologiesare used for multifunctional home appliances such as a personal computer(hereinafter, referred as PC), a mobile phone, and a personal digitalassistance (hereinafter, referred as PDA), small built-in devices suchas a digital camera, and a printer, and the like. Hereinafter, a deviceequipped with such wireless communication function is referred as awireless device.

These wireless devices have been in widespread use and have been used inmany scenes, and accordingly, user's convenience is improved. On theother hand, unauthorized invasion to wireless devices and securitydamages such as outflow of personal information have become problematic,and therefore, security enhancement in the wireless devices has beenstrongly desired.

Under such background, many systems for security enhancement have beenprovided, and at the same time, it has become a large burden for generalusers who lack expertise to set proper security settings for eachdevice. Consequently, as one method which is for achieving securitysetting of wireless devices by a simple operation, there is proposed aworking referred as handover in which setting information and the likenecessary for authentication is automatically exchanged between devicesusing a communication method having a narrow communication range, andthen, the communication method is switched to a communication methodhaving a wider communication range.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-364145discloses a configuration of handover in which protocol information andthe like that can be used by another communication apparatus isexchanged using a first communication means and the communication meansis switched to a second communication means using the exchanged protocolinformation and the like. In addition, Japanese Patent ApplicationLaid-Open No. 2006-14076 discloses a communication system which improvessecurity by performing handover after a session key produced with arandom number is encrypted and exchanged. In addition, Japanese PatentApplication Laid-Open No. 2007-74598 discloses a method which exchangesprotocol information among not less than three devices which supportdifferent communication methods and realizes communications by switchinga communication method to an optimum one.

SUMMARY

However, in specifications of the handover which have been proposed sofar, means for notifying a user of a state of switching from the firstcommunication means to the second communication means is not specified.For example, if a device which performs a handover is a terminal deviceand the like in which a display screen is provided, it is conceivable tomake the terminal device display a state of the handover on the displayscreen. However, there is a case where a display screen is not provideddepending on devices. In addition, when a process time taken to thehandover becomes long, for example, in the case where a process of thehandover becomes complicated in the future or in the case of achievingadvanced security, convenience is impaired if a user has to continue topay particular attention to a screen.

The present application has been made in view of the above issues, andit is desirable to provide a novel and improved communication apparatus,a communication system, a notification method, and a program product,which are capable of notifying a state of progress of handover withoutmaking a user pay particular attention to a screen.

According to an embodiment, there is provided a communication apparatusincluding: a first communication unit having a first communicationrange; a second communication unit having a second communication rangewider than the first communication range; a control unit which transmitsa request signal for starting communication via the second communicationunit from the first communication unit to another communicationapparatus, and transmits authentication information from the secondcommunication unit to the another communication apparatus in the casewhere it is determined that communication with the another communicationapparatus via the second communication unit is possible based on aresponse signal after the first communication unit receives the responsesignal in response to the request signal; and a notification unit whichnotifies a user after the second communication unit receives a result ofauthentication based on the authentication information.

According to such a configuration, in a handover situation, the requestsignal for starting communication via the second communication unit isfirst transmitted from the first communication unit to anothercommunication apparatus. Then, the first communication unit receives aresponse signal transmitted from the another communication apparatus inresponse to the request signal. After that, the control unit determineswhether or not communication with the another communication apparatusvia the second communication unit is possible based on the responsesignal. Then, in the case where the communication with the anothercommunication apparatus via the second communication unit is possible,the second communication unit transmits the authentication informationto the another communication apparatus. Then, after the secondcommunication unit receives a result of authentication based on theauthentication information, the notification unit, for example, notifiesa user using an arbitrary means for stimulating sensory organs of theuser such as a visual sense, acoustic sense, and tactile sense.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user after the responsesignal in response to the request signal is received by the firstcommunication unit.

Furthermore, the notification unit may continuously notify a user afterthe request signal is transmitted from the first communication unit tothe another communication apparatus until the response signal inresponse to the request signal is received by the first communicationunit.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user in differentnotification patterns depending on availability of communication withthe another communication apparatus via the second communication unit,the availability of the communication being determined by the controlunit.

Furthermore, the notification unit may continuously notify a user afterthe authentication information is transmitted from the secondcommunication unit to the another communication apparatus until theresult of the authentication based on the authentication information isreceived by the second communication unit.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user in differentnotification patterns depending on whether the authentication based onthe authentication information succeeded or not or depending on the typeof success or failure of the authentication.

Furthermore, the communication apparatus may further include anapplication unit which provides a user with an application service usingcommunication with the another communication apparatus via the secondcommunication unit in the case where the authentication based on theauthentication information succeeds, and the notification unit maynotify the user in the case where the provision of the applicationservice is started by the application unit.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user in the case wherethe provision of the application service by the application unit is notable to be started due to an error after the authentication based on theauthentication information succeeds.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user in differentnotification patterns depending on a communication method specified inthe response signal after the response signal in response to the requestsignal is received by the first communication unit.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a communicationapparatus including: a first communication unit having a firstcommunication range; a second communication unit having a secondcommunication range wider than the first communication range; a controlunit which transmits a response signal in response to a request signalfrom the first communication unit to the another communication apparatusafter the first communication unit receives the request signal forstarting communication via the second communication unit from theanother communication apparatus, and transmits a result ofauthentication based on authentication information from the secondcommunication unit to the another communication apparatus after thesecond communication unit receives the authentication information fromthe another communication apparatus; an authentication unit whichauthenticates the communication with the another communication apparatusvia the second communication unit based on the authenticationinformation and outputs the result of the authentication; and anotification unit which notifies a user after the authentication isperformed by the authentication unit based on the authenticationinformation.

Furthermore, the notification unit may continuously notify a user duringa carrier wave for detecting a communication party is output from thefirst communication unit.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user after the firstcommunication unit receives the request signal from the anothercommunication apparatus.

Furthermore, the notification unit may notify a user in differentnotification patterns depending on whether the authentication performedby the authentication unit based on the authentication informationsucceeded or not or depending on the type of success or failure of theauthentication.

Furthermore, the communication apparatus may further include anoperation unit which accepts an operation indicating whether or notcommunication via the second communication unit is admitted after theresponse signal is transmitted by the first communication unit, and thenotification unit may notify a user after the operation unit accepts theoperation which admits the communication via the second communicationunit.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a communicationsystem including a communication apparatus of the request side and acommunication apparatus of the response side, the communicationapparatus of the request side including: a first communication unit ofthe request side having a first communication range; a secondcommunication unit of the request side having a second communicationrange wider than the first communication range; a control unit of therequest side which transmits a request signal for starting communicationvia the second communication unit of the request side from the firstcommunication unit of the request side to the communication apparatus ofthe response side, and transmits authentication information from thesecond communication unit of the request side to the communicationapparatus of the response side in the case where it is determined thatcommunication with the communication apparatus of the response side viathe second communication unit of the request side is possible based on aresponse signal after the first communication unit of the request sidereceives the response signal in response to the request signal; and anotification unit of the request side which notifies a user after thesecond communication unit of the request side receives a result ofauthentication based on the authentication information, and thecommunication apparatus of the response side including: a firstcommunication unit of the response side capable of communicating withthe first communication unit of the request side; a second communicationunit of the response side capable of communicating with the secondcommunication unit of the request side; and a control unit of theresponse side which transmits the response signal from the firstcommunication unit of the response side to the communication apparatusof the request side after the first communication unit of the responseside receives the request signal from the communication apparatus of therequest side, and transmits the result of the authentication based onthe authentication information from the second communication unit of theresponse side to the communication apparatus of the request side afterthe second communication unit of the response side receives theauthentication information from the communication apparatus of therequest side.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a notification methodincluding the steps of: transmitting a request signal for startingcommunication by a second communication method having a secondcommunication range wider than a first communication range using a firstcommunication method having the first communication range from a firstcommunication apparatus to a second communication apparatus;transmitting a response signal in response to the request signal fromthe second communication apparatus to the first communication apparatus;determining whether or not the communication by the second communicationmethod with the second communication apparatus is possible based on theresponse signal in the first communication apparatus; transmittingauthentication information from the first communication apparatus to thesecond communication apparatus in the case where it is determined thatthe communication by the second communication method is possible;transmitting a result of authentication based on the authenticationinformation from the second communication apparatus to the firstcommunication apparatus; and carrying out a notification for a userafter receiving the result of the authentication based on theauthentication information in the first communication apparatus.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a computer programproduct having instructions that when read by a CPU cause an informationprocessing apparatus, which controls a communication apparatus includinga first communication unit having a first communication range, a secondcommunication unit having a second communication range wider than thefirst communication range, and a notification unit which carries out anotification for a user, to perform a function as a control unit whichtransmits a request signal for starting communication via the secondcommunication unit from the first communication unit to the anothercommunication apparatus, transmits authentication information from thesecond communication unit to the another communication apparatus in thecase where it is determined that communication with the anothercommunication apparatus via the second communication unit is possiblebased on the response signal after the first communication unit receivesa response signal in response to the request signal, and causes thenotification unit to carry out a notification for the user after thesecond communication unit receives a result of authentication based onthe authentication information.

According to another embodiment, there is provided a computer programproduct having instructions that when read by a CPU cause an informationprocessing apparatus, which controls a communication apparatus includinga first communication unit having a first communication range, a secondcommunication unit having a second communication range wider than thefirst communication range, and a notification unit which carries out anotification for a user, to perform a function as a control unit whichtransmits a response signal in response to the request signal from thefirst communication unit to the another communication apparatus afterthe first communication unit receives a request signal for startingcommunication via the second communication unit from the anothercommunication apparatus, transmits a result of authentication based onthe authentication information from the second communication unit to theanother communication apparatus after the second communication unitreceives authentication information from the another communicationapparatus, and causes the notification unit to carry out a notificationfor the user to after performing the authentication based on theauthentication information; and an authentication unit whichauthenticates the communication with the another communication apparatusvia the second communication unit based on the authenticationinformation and outputs the result of the authentication.

As described above, according to the communication apparatus, thecommunication system, the notification method, and the program product,it is possible to notify a state of progress of handover without makinga user pay particular attention to a screen.

Additional features and advantages are described in, and will beapparent from, the following Detailed Description and the figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a typical view showing outline of a communication systemaccording to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a firstcommunication apparatus and a second communication apparatus accordingto an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of the firstcommunication apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of the secondcommunication apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of a handover processflow and a notification process;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing another example of a notificationprocess;

FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 12 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 13 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process;

FIG. 14 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process; and

FIG. 15 is a sequence diagram showing a further different example of thenotification process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application will be described in detail with reference tothe appended drawings according to an embodiment. Note that, in thisspecification and the appended drawings, structural elements that havesubstantially the same function and structure are denoted with the samereference numerals, and repeated explanation of these structuralelements is omitted.

The embodiments will be described with the following sections [1] to[3]:

[1] Outline of Communication System;

[2] Basic Configuration Example of Communication Apparatuses; and

[3] Example of Handover Process Flow and Notification Process.

[1] Outline of Communication System

First, an outline of the communication system 1 according to anembodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a communication system 1 according toan embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includesa first communication apparatus 100 and a second communication apparatus200.

In FIG. 1, there is shown a mobile phone terminal as the firstcommunication apparatus 100 and a video display device as the secondcommunication apparatus 200, however, the first communication apparatus100 and the second communication apparatus 200 are not limited to suchexamples. The first communication apparatus 100 or the secondcommunication apparatus 200 may be, for example, a PC, a PDA, a soundreproducing apparatus, an information processing apparatus such as adigital camera, or a wireless communication module connected to suchdevices and the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, such first communication apparatus 100 and secondcommunication apparatus 200 can communicate with each other by two typesof communication methods including a first communication method and asecond communication method. The first communication method is typicallyrealized as a proximity communication method which is for communicatingbetween very short distances, for example, a distance of approximately10 cm. As the first communication method, for example, a non-contactcommunication method according to the NFC (near field communication)standards can be used.

On the other hand, the second communication method is a communicationmethod capable of communicating in a wider range than the firstcommunication method. The second communication method is typicallyrealized as a relatively high speed communication method with a widerbandwidth than the first communication method. As the secondcommunication method, for example, a communication method such as thewireless LAN and the BT can be used.

In the case where handover is performed in the communication system 1shown in FIG. 1, setting information for communication by the secondcommunication method is first exchanged using the first communicationmethod between the first communication apparatus 100 and the secondcommunication apparatus 200. Exchange of setting information isperformed, for example, through a transmission of a request signal whichrequests starting handover and a reception of a response signal inresponse to the request signal.

After that, when the exchange of setting information is completed,authentication is performed between the first communication apparatus100 and the second communication apparatus 200 using the secondcommunication method. Then, after the authentication using the secondcommunication method succeeds, the handover is finally done, and anapplication service between the first communication apparatus 100 andthe second communication apparatus 200 is started.

At this time, for example, there is a case where a certain amount oftime is necessary from a request for handover till completion ofhandover in case that an authentication process accompanies with highprocessing cost in order to achieve advanced security, or depending on aspecific situation of communication environment, and the like. Inaddition, there are some possibilities that a handover will fail becauseof a communication error, a connection refusal by a user, and the like.And so, as described in detail later, the first communication apparatus100 and the second communication apparatus 200 according to the presentembodiment provide a scheme which notifies a user of various states ofprogress such as success, failure, during attempt of the handover and soon.

[2] Basic Configuration Example of Communication Apparatuses

Next, basic configuration examples of the first communication apparatus100 and the second communication apparatus 200 will be described usingFIGS. 2 to 4.

FIG. 2 is an illustrative diagram showing an example of a hardwareconfiguration of the first communication apparatus 100 according to anembodiment. Referring to FIG. 2, the first communication apparatus 100includes a first communication circuit 50, a second communicationcircuit 56, an MPU (micro processing unit) 60, a RAM (random accessmemory) 62, a ROM (read only memory) 64, a recording medium 66, an inputand output interface 70, an input device 72, display device 74 and anotification device 76. In addition, these constituent elements areconnected with each other by a bus 68 serving as a data transmissionpath.

The first communication circuit 50 is a device provided in order thatthe first communication apparatus 100 performs communication by a firstcommunication method. As the first communication method, for example, inthe case of using the NFC method, the first communication circuit 50includes a resonance circuit having predetermined inductance andcapacitance, a demodulation circuit which demodulates a signal receivedby the resonance circuit, and a transmission circuit which amplifies acarrier wave and transmits it from the resonance circuit. Alternatively,the first communication circuit 50 may be, for example, an infrared portand the like according to the IrDA (Infrared Data Association)standards.

The second communication circuit 56 is a device provided in order thatthe first communication apparatus 100 performs communication by thesecond communication method. The second communication circuit 56 may be,for example, a BT port according to standard specifications by IEEE802.15.1, or a wireless LAN port and the like according to standardspecifications such as IEEE 802.11a, b, g, and n. In addition, aplurality of the second communication circuits 56 according to differenttypes of communication methods may be provided in the firstcommunication apparatus 100.

The MPU 60 serves as a control unit which controls the whole of thefirst communication apparatus 100. The RAM 62 temporarily stores, forexample, programs, data, and the like executed and used by the MPU 60.In addition, the ROM 64 stores, for example, control data such asprograms, and process parameters, which are used by the MPU 60.

The recording medium 66 is configured, for example, using a magneticrecording medium such as a hard disk and a non-volatile memory such as aflash memory. The recording medium 66 stores data such as settinginformation, authentication information, and application information ofthe first communication apparatus 100, various types of programs, andthe like.

The input and output interface 70 connects, for example, the bus 68 withthe input device 72, the display device 74, and the notification device76. As the input and output interface 70, for example, a USB (UniversalSerial Bus) terminal, a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) terminal, and thelike can be used.

The input device 72 is configured, for example, using a button, adirection key, a joystick, a keyboard, a mouse, and the like, andaccepts an operation from a user. The display device 74 is configured,for example, using a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), a liquid crystal display,an organic LED (Organic Electro-Luminescence) display, and the like, anddisplays information to the user.

The notification device 76 may be an arbitrary device which stimulatesuser's sensory organs. For example, if a LED (light emitting diode) isused, it is possible to notify by stimulating a user's visual sense withblinking patterns, displayed colors, and the like. In addition, forexample, if speakers, bells, and the like are used, it is possible tonotify by stimulating a user's acoustic sense with sonant patterns,musical scales, rhythms, and the like. Further, if a vibrator by aneccentric motor and the like is used, it is possible to notify bystimulating a user's tactile sense with vibration patterns, vibrationintensities, and the like.

The hardware configuration of the first communication apparatus 100according to an embodiment using FIG. 2 has been described so far. Inthe present embodiment, the hardware configuration of the secondcommunication apparatus 200 is also configured as shown in FIG. 2.

Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of thefirst communication apparatus 100 in the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first communication apparatus 100 includes afirst communication unit 110, a second communication unit 120, a displayunit 130, an operation unit 140, a control unit 150, a storage unit 160,an application unit 170, and a notification unit 180.

The first communication unit 110 mediates communication with the secondcommunication apparatus 200 by the first communication method using thefirst communication circuit 50 described using FIG. 2. In the presentembodiment, the first communication unit 110 of the first communicationapparatus 100 transmits a request signal (request message) whichrequests start of communication via the second communication unit to bedescribed later to the second communication apparatus 200 in response toan instruction from the control unit 150. That is, in the presentembodiment, the first communication apparatus 100 becomes a terminal onthe side of requesting handover. After that, a response signal (selectmessage) returned from the second communication apparatus 200 inresponse to the request signal is received, and then, the communicationvia the second communication unit 120 is started.

The second communication unit 120 mediates communication with the secondcommunication apparatus 200 by the second communication method using thesecond communication circuit 56 described using FIG. 2. As the secondcommunication method, for example, the BT method, the wireless LANsystem, and the like are used as described before. In the case where thecommunication using the second communication method is started by thesecond communication unit 120, a specific authentication process isperformed between the second communication unit 120 and thecommunication party.

The display unit 130 displays text information and image informationoutput from the control unit 150, for example, to a user using thedisplay device 74 described using FIG. 2. The operation unit 140generates an input signal corresponding to each operation and outputs itto the control unit 150 when a user performs, for example, operation forstarting handover, accepting a connection, and the like with the inputdevice 72 described using FIG. 2.

The control unit 150 is connected to the first communication unit 110,the second communication unit 120, the display unit 130, the operationunit 140, the storage unit 160, the application unit 170, and thenotification unit 180, and controls function of each constituentelement. The control unit 150 mainly uses the MPU 60, the RAM 62, andthe ROM 64 described using FIG. 2.

For example, when the control unit 150 receives the input signalindicating that a handover start is designated from the operation unit140, the control unit 150 transmits a request signal which requests ahandover from the first communication unit 110. Then, after a responsesignal in response to the transmitted request signal from, for example,the second communication apparatus 200 is received, the control unit 150determines whether a communication with the second communicationapparatus 200 via the second communication unit 120 is possible or notbased on setting information and the like included in the receivedresponse signal.

In this case, as the setting information, for example, informationrelated to address information for the second communication method andan authentication system to be supported, information related toapplications provided within each device, or the like are contained inthe response signal. Therefore, with the setting information, thecontrol unit 150 can confirm whether or not the first communicationapparatus 100 can use, for example, the authentication system supportedby the second communication apparatus 200, whether or not the secondcommunication apparatus 200 has, for example, an application which is incommon with the first communication apparatus 100, or the like. Inaddition, in the case where connection availability information iscontained in the response signal, the control unit 150 can determinewhether or not the connection is allowed using the connectionavailability information.

Then, the control unit 150 further transmits authentication informationfrom the second communication unit 120 to the second communicationapparatus 200 in the case where it is determined that the communicationwith the second communication apparatus 200 via the second communicationunit 120 is possible. In this case, the authentication informationtransmitted by the second communication unit 120 includes, for example,public keys, certificates, and the like in the public key cryptosystemwhich is adopted in the standards such as the BT and the wireless LAN.This allows the second communication apparatus 200 to startcommunication with guaranteed security through an authentication processwith the first communication apparatus 100.

The storage unit 160 stores, for example, a program executed by thecontrol unit 150 and the application unit 170, or data such as settinginformation necessary for communication via the first communication unit110 or the second communication unit 120, using the recording medium 66described using FIG. 2.

The application unit 170 mainly uses the MPU 60, the RAM 62, and the ROM64 described using FIG. 2, similarly to the control unit 150. Theapplication unit 170 provides a user with an arbitrary applicationservice using communication function between the first communicationapparatus 100 and the second communication apparatus 200. Among theseservices, services which require exchanging data of which data sizeexceeds a certain capacity, such as data sharing services of image dataand music data or data backup services are performed using the secondcommunication method via the second communication unit 120 through ahandover process to be described later.

The notification unit 180 is configured using the notification device 76described using FIG. 2. For example, the notification unit 180 notifiesa user of states of progress such as success, failure, or during attemptof the handover with the second communication apparatus 200 based on aninstruction from the control unit 150. In this case, the notificationunit 180 may use a plurality of different notification patternsdepending on the state of progress of the handover process.

The notification patterns may be identified, for example, byilluminating colors, the amount of light, blinking intervals, and thelike in the case where the notification device 76 is a light emittingdevice such as LEDs. Further, the notification patterns may beidentified, for example, by musical scales, sound volume, rhythms, andthe like in the case of an audio output unit such as speakers.Furthermore, the notification patterns may be identified, for example,by vibration intensities, intervals, and the like in the case of avibration device such as vibrators.

A flow of a series of the handover process and the notification processperformed and controlled by the control unit 150 will be furtherdescribed in detail in the following section.

Next, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a logical configuration of thesecond communication apparatus 200 in the present embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 4, the second communication apparatus 200 includes afirst communication unit 210, a second communication unit 220, a displayunit 230, an operation unit 240, a control unit 250, a storage unit 260,an application unit 270, a notification unit 280, and an authenticationunit 290. Herein, the functions similar to the first communication unit110, the second communication unit 120, the display unit 130, theoperation unit 140, the storage unit 160, the application unit 170, andthe notification unit 180 of the first communication apparatus 100described above using FIG. 3 will not be repeated.

The first communication unit 210 of the second communication apparatus200 mediates communication by the above first communication method withthe first communication apparatus 100. In the present embodiment, thefirst communication unit 210 of the second communication apparatus 200receives a request signal transmitted from the first communicationapparatus 100 for starting communication via the second communicationunit. Then, the first communication unit 210 transmits a response signalto the first communication apparatus 100 in response to an instructionfrom the control unit 250. That is, in the present embodiment, thesecond communication apparatus 200 becomes a terminal on the side ofresponding to the handover request.

On the other hand, the second communication unit 220 of the secondcommunication apparatus 200 mediates communication by the above secondcommunication method with the first communication apparatus 100, usingthe second communication circuit 50.

When the above request signal transmitted from the first communicationapparatus 100 is received by the first communication unit 210, thecontrol unit 250 obtains, for example, setting information and the likesuch as address information for the above second communication methodfrom the storage unit 260. Then, the control unit 250 makes the firstcommunication unit 210 transmit the response signal including theobtained setting information to the first communication apparatus 100.

After that, when authentication information, which is for authenticatingcommunication by the second communication method, transmitted from thefirst communication apparatus 100 is received by the secondcommunication unit 220, the control unit 250 receives and transmits theauthentication information to the authentication unit 290 and requeststo perform an authentication. Then, the control unit 250 makes thesecond communication unit 220 transmit the authentication result outputby the authentication unit 290 to the first communication apparatus 100.

In this case, in the present embodiment, authentication by theauthentication unit 290 can be performed in accordance with an arbitraryauthentication system or standard specifications such as, for example,EAP-TLS (EAP-Transport Layer Security) or PEAP (Protected EAP).

In the present embodiment, an example that an authentication request issent from the first communication apparatus 100 to the secondcommunication apparatus 200 when a handover is performed. However,alternatively, an authentication request may be sent from the secondcommunication apparatus 200 to the first communication apparatus 100. Inthat case, function equivalent to the authentication unit 290 isadditionally provided to a logical configuration of the firstcommunication apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3.

So far, an example of the hardware configuration and the logicalconfigurations of the first communication apparatus 100 and the secondcommunication apparatus 200 have been described using FIGS. 2 to 4.Next, an example of a handover process flow and a notification process,performed between the first communication apparatus 100 and the secondcommunication apparatus 200 with such configurations will be described.

[3] Example of Handover Process Flow and Notification Process [3-1]Typical Flow

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing an example of the handover processflow which is performed between the first communication apparatus 100and the second communication apparatus 200.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, first, a user performs a specificoperation on the first communication apparatus 100, and accordingly, thehandover process is started (S302). For example, the first communicationapparatus 100 may start the handover process when a specific button ofthe operation unit 140 is pressed.

Next, the control unit 150 of the first communication apparatus 100makes the first communication unit 110 transmit a request signal forstarting communication by the second communication method, that is, forstarting a handover to the second communication apparatus 200 (S304).Herein, for example, in the case of the NFC method, a communicationrange (first communication range) of the first communication unit 110 isa range of an adjacent distance such as approximately 10 cm.Consequently, for example, the display unit 130 of the firstcommunication apparatus 100 displays a screen which induces a user tobring (touch) the first communication apparatus 100 close to the secondcommunication apparatus 200. This makes the user touch the firstcommunication apparatus 100 to the second communication apparatus 200,and the request signal for the handover transmitted from the firstcommunication unit 110 reaches the second communication apparatus 200.

The request signal of the handover which has reached the secondcommunication apparatus 200 is received by the first communication unit210 of the second communication apparatus 200. Then, the control unit250 of the second communication apparatus 200 makes the firstcommunication unit 210 transmit the response signal including settinginformation and the like for authentication of communication by thesecond communication method to the first communication apparatus 100 asa response to the received request signal (S306).

In the first communication apparatus 100, when the response signaltransmitted from the second communication apparatus 200 is received, thecontrol unit 150 of the first communication apparatus 100 makes thenotification unit 180 notify the user that the touch has been succeeded(H1). This enables the user to recognize that he or she may move thefirst communication apparatus 100 away from the second communicationapparatus 200. Such notification is not limited to notification by soundas shown in FIG. 5. For example, the notification may be performed byLED blinking, vibrator vibration, and the like. In addition,notification patterns may be changed depending on types of applicationto be connected and the like.

Herein, a sequence of handover request and response of S304 and S306 isnot limited to the case where the sequence is completed with onerequest/response reciprocation as shown in FIG. 5. In the case whereS304 and S306 are repeated plural times, for example, it can bedetermined that a time point at which a communication completion commandof the first communication method is finally received is a time point atwhich the touch has been succeeded.

After that, in the second communication apparatus 200, for example,operation admitting the handover is performed by the user (S308). Forexample, the display unit 230 of the second communication apparatus 200displays a screen for asking a user whether the handover is to beadmitted or not, and the operation for admission or refusal by the usermay be accepted by the operation unit 240. Herein, in the case wheresetting which automatically admit the handover is given in advance, S308may be omitted and a subsequent process may be automatically proceededwithout asking a user about admission.

Meanwhile, after S306, the control unit 150 of the first communicationapparatus 100 makes the second communication unit 120 transmitauthentication information for authentication of communication by thesecond communication method. Typically, after S306, the authenticationinformation is recurrently transmitted from the second communicationunit 120 until the authentication result is replied from the secondcommunication apparatus 200 or a certain time has been passed and timeout occurs (S310). During that time, for example, a screen of “duringconnection (connecting . . . )” showing that authentication by thepresent second communication method is attempted is displayed on thedisplay unit 130 of the first communication apparatus 100.

After that, in the second communication apparatus 200 in which thehandover is admitted by the user, the control unit 250 requests theauthentication unit 290 to perform an authentication using the receivedauthentication information after the second communication unit 220receives the authentication information (S312). Then, the control unit250 transmits the authentication result output by the authenticationunit 290 from the second communication unit 220 to the firstcommunication apparatus 100 (S314).

In the first communication apparatus 100, when the authentication resultis received from the second communication apparatus 200 as a response tothe authentication request, the control unit 150 of the firstcommunication apparatus 100 makes the notification unit 180 notify theuser that the authentication is performed (H2). This makes the useraware that the handover has succeeded or failed.

After that, for example, basic information that is notapplication-specific information is exchanged between the firstcommunication apparatus 100 and the second communication apparatus 200using the second communication method (S316). In this case, the basicinformation includes, for example, profile information and the like of auser who uses each device.

Further, after exchanging the basic information, application-specificdetail information is exchanged between the second communication units120 and 220 (S318). In this case, the control unit 150 of the firstcommunication apparatus 100 or the control unit 250 of the secondcommunication apparatus 200 may be further determined whether or not itis possible to start an application based on the exchanged detailinformation of applications.

Then, after exchanging the detail information of applications, undercommunication environment with guaranteed security, application serviceprovision using the second communication method is started (S320).

[3-2] Modified Embodiment

The handover process flow and typical notification process have beendescribed in FIG. 5. However, in the present embodiment, variousnotification processes by different patterns or different timings fromthose of FIG. 5 can be achieved. Hereinafter, a modified embodiment of anotification process will be described using FIGS. 6 to 15.

In FIG. 6, notification is continuously performed (H3) aftertransmission of a handover request signal from the first communicationunit 110 of the first communication apparatus 100 is started (S304)until a response signal from the second communication apparatus 200 isreceived (S306). Such notification which continues for a certain periodof time can be performed, for example, by repetition of sonant, byrepetition of LED illumination or blinking, or the like. That makes theuser recognize that it is necessary to keep touching during thenotification.

In FIG. 7, in the case where the control unit 150 determines thatcommunication with the second communication apparatus 200 is not able tobe started based on a response signal when the response signal isreplied from the second communication apparatus 200 (S307), notificationindicating that the handover has failed is performed (H4). For example,in the case where the capability of the first communication apparatus100 and the second communication apparatus 200 is unmatched or in thecase where connection availability information indicating that handoveris refused is included in the response signal, it can be determined thatthe handover has failed. As an example in which capabilities areunmatched may be a case of no existence of corresponding application, avariance of version, lack of a necessary device or a control profile, orthe like. Causes of such handover failure may be notified to a user byusing different notification patterns. That makes a user to be able torecognize the causes and the like in the case of success or failure ofhandover without paying particular attention to, for example, a displayunit 130.

In FIG. 8, in the case that there is no response from the secondcommunication apparatus 200 even when a predetermined period of time haspassed after transmission of the handover request signal from the firstcommunication unit 110 is started (S304), notification representing thatrequest has failed because of time out is performed (H5). In such acase, notification may be performed in a form that can enable the userto recognize the type of failure by using a different notificationpattern from the notification (H4) shown in FIG. 7. In addition, asdescribed above, in the case where S304 and S306 are repeated pluraltimes, for example, when a communication completion command is notconfirmed even if the predetermined period of time has passed,notification showing the same time out as H5 may be performed.

In FIG. 9, after the handover request (S304) and response (S306), in thecase where operation for admitting or refusing the handover is performedby the user on the second communication apparatus 200 (S308),notification representing that the handover is admitted or refused isperformed (H6). Such notification is performed, for example, by givingan instruction from the control unit 250 to the notification unit 280 ofthe second communication apparatus 200. In addition, notification may beperformed in different patterns depending on whether the handover isadmitted or refused.

In FIG. 10, in the case where the control unit 150 determines thatauthentication is failed when the authentication result of thecommunication by the second communication method is replied from thesecond communication apparatus 200 (S315), notification which representsauthentication failure is performed (H7).

In FIG. 11, in the case where the authentication result is not repliedfrom the second communication apparatus 200 even when the predeterminedperiod of time has passed after the authentication request from thesecond communication unit 120 is transmitted (S310), notification whichrepresents that the authentication is failed with time out is performed(H8). In such a case, notification may be performed in the form thattypes of the authentication failure can be recognized using a differentnotification pattern from the notification (H7) which represents theauthentication failure shown in FIG. 10. That makes the user to be ableto recognize causes of not only success or failure of theauthentication, but also the cause of authentication failure.

In addition to S310, in the case where there is no response from acommunication party during the predetermined period after executingrespective steps such as S314, S316, and S318 shown in FIG. 5,notification related to the same time out may be performed.

In FIG. 12, in the case where it is turned out that capabilities ofapplications are unmatched (S319) after the basic information and detailinformation of applications are exchanged between the firstcommunication apparatus 100 and the second communication apparatus 200(S316), notification is performed (H9).

FIG. 13 shows an example in which states of progress of the handoverprocess shown in FIG. 5 is notified each time the state changes. In FIG.13, each notification is performed on handover start operation (S302 andH11), on handover request (S304 and H12), on handover response (S306 andH13), during authentication request (S310 and H14), on authenticationresponse (S314 and H15), on basic information exchange (S316 and H16),on application detail information exchange (S318 and H17), and onapplication start (S320 and H18).

In addition, as described in connection with the description of thesecond communication circuit 56 shown in FIG. 2, there is a case where aplurality of types of the second communication methods are used betweenthe first communication apparatus 100 and the second communicationapparatus 200. In that case, as shown in FIG. 14, in the secondcommunication apparatus 200 in which a request signal of handover fromthe first communication apparatus 100 is received, it is possible to leta user select the second communication method which is to be handovertarget from a plurality of candidates. In FIG. 14, as an example, twooptions including communication methods A and B are shown on the screen.For example, in FIG. 14, the communication method A may be a BT methodand the communication method B may be a Wi-Fi method or the like.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, information which specifies acommunication method selected by the user is included in a responsesignal replied from the second communication apparatus 200 (S306). Thefirst communication apparatus 100 which receives such response signalmay perform different notification patterns depending on the specifiedcommunication method, for example, in a manner of H21 in the case wherethe BT method is specified or in a manner of H22 in the case where theWi-Fi method is specified.

Herein, in FIG. 14, the example of letting the user select the secondcommunication method is shown, however, alternatively, the secondcommunication method may be automatically selected by the firstcommunication apparatus 100 or the second communication apparatus 200according to previously set priority or the like.

In addition, in proximity communication such as the NFC used as thefirst communication method, a device served as a reader/writer outputs acarrier wave to detect a communication party. In the present embodiment,the second communication apparatus 200 serves as the reader/writer.Then, there is a case where the carrier wave is triggered to startoutputting or is constantly output. Consequently, the notification unit280 may notify the user whether or not the carrier wave is being outputfrom the second communication apparatus 200.

In FIG. 15, triggered by a user's operation for starting outputting acarrier wave, the output of the carrier wave is started from the firstcommunication unit 210 of the second communication apparatus 200 (S303),and notification is performed during the carrier wave is being output(H31). That enables the user to recognize the time at which it makes thefirst communication apparatus 100 touch the second communicationapparatus 200.

Examples of the handover process flow and the notification processaccording to an embodiment have been described so far using FIGS. 5 to15. Herein, the examples that notifications are performed using thenotification unit 180 of the first communication apparatus 100 have beenshown by the respective drawings except for FIGS. 9 and 15. However,notifications may be performed using the notification unit 280 of thesecond communication apparatus 200 at the notification timing shown ineach drawing. In addition, it is possible to notify using both the firstcommunication apparatus 100 and the second communication apparatus 200.In this regard, however, in order to avoid user's confusion, it ispreferable that notification related to the handover process isperformed while maintaining sensation of unity, for example, thenotification is performed by only one device on the side ofrequesting/responding.

According to the present embodiment, it is possible to make a userappropriately recognize a state of progress of handover without makingthe user pay particular attention to a screen. In addition, the state ofprogress of the handover can be expressed even with a communicationapparatus in which a display screen is not provided. This improvesconvenience of secure and seamless communication utilizing the handover,and utilization of proximity communication and short-distancecommunication in more multiple scenes is expected.

It should be understood that various changes and modifications to thepresently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope and without diminishing itsintended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes andmodifications be covered by the appended claims.

1. A communication apparatus comprising: a first communication unithaving a first communication range; a second communication unit having asecond communication range wider than the first communication range; acontrol unit which transmits a request signal for starting communicationvia the second communication unit from the first communication unit toanother communication apparatus, and transmits authenticationinformation from the second communication unit to the anothercommunication apparatus in the case where it is determined thatcommunication with the another communication apparatus via the secondcommunication unit is possible based on a response signal after thefirst communication unit receives the response signal in response to therequest signal; and a notification unit which notifies a user after thesecond communication unit receives a result of authentication based onthe authentication information.
 2. The communication apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies a user after theresponse signal in response to the request signal is received by thefirst communication unit.
 3. The communication apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the notification unit continuously notifies a userafter the request signal is transmitted from the first communicationunit to the another communication apparatus until the response signal inresponse to the request signal is received by the first communicationunit.
 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thenotification unit notifies a user in different notification patternsdepending on availability of communication with the anothercommunication apparatus via the second communication unit, theavailability of the communication being determined by the control unit.5. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thenotification unit continuously notifies a user after the authenticationinformation is transmitted from the second communication unit to theanother communication apparatus until the result of the authenticationbased on the authentication information is received by the secondcommunication unit.
 6. The communication apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the notification unit notifies a user in different notificationpatterns depending on whether the authentication based on theauthentication information succeeded or not or depending on the type ofsuccess or failure of the authentication.
 7. The communication apparatusaccording to claim 1, further comprising an application unit whichprovides a user with an application service using communication with theanother communication apparatus via the second communication unit in thecase where the authentication based on the authentication informationsucceeds, and wherein the notification unit notifies the user in thecase where the provision of the application service is started by theapplication unit.
 8. The communication apparatus according to claim 7,wherein the notification unit notifies a user in the case where theprovision of the application service by the application unit is not ableto be started due to an error after the authentication based on theauthentication information succeeds.
 9. The communication apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the notification unit notifies a user indifferent notification patterns depending on a communication methodspecified in the response signal after the response signal in responseto the request signal is received by the first communication unit.
 10. Acommunication apparatus comprising: a first communication unit having afirst communication range; a second communication unit having a secondcommunication range wider than the first communication range; a controlunit which transmits a response signal in response to a request signalfrom the first communication unit to the another communication apparatusafter the first communication unit receives the request signal forstarting communication via the second communication unit from theanother communication apparatus, and transmits a result ofauthentication based on authentication information from the secondcommunication unit to the another communication apparatus after thesecond communication unit receives the authentication information fromthe another communication apparatus; an authentication unit whichauthenticates the communication with the another communication apparatusvia the second communication unit based on the authenticationinformation and outputs the result of the authentication; and anotification unit which notifies a user after the authentication isperformed by the authentication unit based on the authenticationinformation.
 11. The communication apparatus according to claim 10,wherein the notification unit continuously notifies a user during acarrier wave for detecting a communication party is output from thefirst communication unit.
 12. The communication apparatus according toclaim 10, wherein the notification unit notifies a user after the firstcommunication unit receives the request signal from the anothercommunication apparatus.
 13. The communication apparatus according toclaim 10, wherein the notification unit notifies a user in differentnotification patterns depending on whether the authentication performedby the authentication unit based on the authentication informationsucceeded or not or depending on the type of success or failure of theauthentication.
 14. The communication apparatus according to claim 10,further comprising an operation unit which accepts an operationindicating whether or not communication via the second communicationunit is admitted after the response signal is transmitted by the firstcommunication unit, and wherein the notification unit notifies a userafter the operation unit accepts the operation which admits thecommunication via the second communication unit.
 15. A communicationsystem comprising a communication apparatus of the request side and acommunication apparatus of the response side, the communicationapparatus of the request side including: a first communication unit ofthe request side having a first communication range; a secondcommunication unit of the request side having a second communicationrange wider than the first communication range; a control unit of therequest side which transmits a request signal for starting communicationvia the second communication unit of the request side from the firstcommunication unit of the request side to the communication apparatus ofthe response side, and transmits authentication information from thesecond communication unit of the request side to the communicationapparatus of the response side in the case where it is determined thatcommunication with the communication apparatus of the response side viathe second communication unit of the request side is possible based on aresponse signal after the first communication unit of the request sidereceives the response signal in response to the request signal; and anotification unit of the request side which notifies a user after thesecond communication unit of the request side receives a result ofauthentication based on the authentication information, and thecommunication apparatus of the response side including: a firstcommunication unit of the response side capable of communicating withthe first communication unit of the request side; a second communicationunit of the response side capable of communicating with the secondcommunication unit of the request side; and a control unit of theresponse side which transmits the response signal from the firstcommunication unit of the response side to the communication apparatusof the request side after the first communication unit of the responseside receives the request signal from the communication apparatus of therequest side, and transmits the result of the authentication based onthe authentication information from the second communication unit of theresponse side to the communication apparatus of the request side afterthe second communication unit of the response side receives theauthentication information from the communication apparatus of therequest side.
 16. A notification method comprising: transmitting arequest signal for starting communication by a second communicationmethod having a second communication range wider than a firstcommunication range using a first communication method having the firstcommunication range from a first communication apparatus to a secondcommunication apparatus; transmitting a response signal in response tothe request signal from the second communication apparatus to the firstcommunication apparatus; determining whether or not the communication bythe second communication method with the second communication apparatusis possible based on the response signal in the first communicationapparatus; transmitting authentication information from the firstcommunication apparatus to the second communication apparatus in thecase where it is determined that the communication by the secondcommunication method is possible; transmitting a result ofauthentication based on the authentication information from the secondcommunication apparatus to the first communication apparatus; andcarrying out a notification for a user after receiving the result of theauthentication based on the authentication information in the firstcommunication apparatus.
 17. A computer program product havinginstructions that when read by a CPU cause an information processingapparatus, which controls a communication apparatus including a firstcommunication unit having a first communication range, a secondcommunication unit having a second communication range wider than thefirst communication range, and a notification unit which carries out anotification for a user, to perform a function as a control unit whichtransmits a request signal for starting communication via the secondcommunication unit from the first communication unit to the anothercommunication apparatus, transmits authentication information from thesecond communication unit to the another communication apparatus in thecase where it is determined that communication with the anothercommunication apparatus via the second communication unit is possiblebased on the response signal after the first communication unit receivesa response signal in response to the request signal, and causes thenotification unit to carry out a notification for the user after thesecond communication unit receives a result of authentication based onthe authentication information.
 18. A computer program product havinginstructions that when read by a CPU cause an information processingapparatus, which controls a communication apparatus including a firstcommunication unit having a first communication range, a secondcommunication unit having a second communication range wider than thefirst communication range, and a notification unit which carries out anotification for a user, to perform a function as a control unit whichtransmits a response signal in response to the request signal from thefirst communication unit to the another communication apparatus afterthe first communication unit receives a request signal for startingcommunication via the second communication unit from the anothercommunication apparatus, transmits a result of authentication based onthe authentication information from the second communication unit to theanother communication apparatus after the second communication unitreceives authentication information from the another communicationapparatus, and causes the notification unit to carry out a notificationfor the user to after performing the authentication based on theauthentication information; and an authentication unit whichauthenticates the communication with the another communication apparatusvia the second communication unit based on the authenticationinformation and outputs the result of the authentication.